Good Modules for Generative?

I’ll take a looksee, it seems interesting!

There are a lot of generative possibilities to be found in Befaco’s Rampage, there are a couple of (semi-/)Random Gates modules - e.g. Hetrick CV, Count Modula, Squinky Labs - which are super useful and then there’s always the power of, for instance, two (or more) Eugenes or modulos running together at different lengths and/or clock divisions.

1 Like

Aria Salvatrice modules together with some clocking and modulation variety make for endless generative fun :slight_smile:

1 Like

I can’t find them. Do you have a link or something I should specifically look up?

One idea might be ProbKey, there’s a lot of modulation potential, specially the Lock feature in order to control the amount of change/repetition in the patterns.

3 Likes

If spending $15 on a module is in your price range I have a paid collection that includes Quantum Compass which genrates a sequence based on the notes you select and then lets warp it, including accidentals which would get you dissonance. Path Set Infinity - Dev Blog - #2 by Patheros

I also have a free network sequencer which lets you make some pretty interesting sequences that can self self modulate. Omri Cohen recently made a video that just scratches the surface of it:

4 Likes

Yes! I have bought the Path Set. I like it a lot, but honestly I don’t quite fully understand how the QC works…

I’ll need to play with it more alone before I add it to my fixed rack.

1 Like

After writing this, I realized that I really need to clarify in the Meander manual that “modal brightness” as designated in Meander is for root=C. I.E., with root=C, Lydian has 1 sharp and Locrian has 5 flats. That is not true for all roots. For any root, the modes could be ordered from brightest to darkest, but one would have to pay attention to the key signature and count flats and sharps.

I find it interesting for generative in Meander to select the harmonic progression #8 “Stay on I”, in which the chords just stay on the “I” circle degree, even though the chord notes may still “meander” through inversions and fBm noise octave target and range. In this case, if the Melody and Arp setting “Chordal” is selected, the melody and arp notes will be taken from the “I” chord tonic position, which corresponds to the “Root”. If the Melody and/or Arp “Scaler” setting is selected, the other 4 scale notes will be played. The Bass part will always be the tonic or root of the current chord, the “I” position in this case. Note, even if Harmony Chords Enable is disabled, the Melody and Bass still have access to the internally generated Harmony chords, but the chords are not sounded.

Also, since Meander can output the scale in the “Poly External Scale” format (12 channels), which Grande Quant can interpret directly, all sorts of external sequencing can be done including like in my recent post using Path Set’s Glass Pane network sequencer.

I should probably have put this in my Meander topic, but it is applicable to this current topic.

I realize this is a personal choice and preference, but what advantages do you see to having a fixed rack? After 50 years of working with hardware modular synths, including having a massive heterogeneous Eurorack modular and semi-modular rack hardware ensemble currently, I seldom touch the hardware these days as the virtual rack seems so much more flexible.

3 Likes

Oh awesome! Id be happy to answer questions about it or make some demo patches if you have some questions or prompts. Or you can just expplore it at your leasure if you’d prefer.

1 Like

Limitation breeds creativity! Learned this through a few of my creative endeavors in my so-far fairly short life. It’s entirely personal preference at this point. I’ve noticed that, for me, when I am given n options, I take as many of them as I can, without fully exploring all of them. When I limit myself, I delve deeper into the small set of options I do have. It’s how I learn- sitting down and forcing myself to work with things by limiting my options of what I can and cannot do; works for studying and works for modular!

It’s also to emulate having a real hardware eurorack system, one you can’t just change on a whim. Eurorack is so prohibitively expensive; even though I prefer hands-on synthesis to clicking with a mouse, I can’t afford a rack, even a small one. So this is as close as I get to that dream. Of course, it’s not a perfect emulation - polyphony, unlimited space, and ease of addition/removal of modules keep it from being 1:1, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Speaking of hands-on, right now my current goal is to get a multi-source, usb mixer; my current hardware usb mixer sums everything to one output :upside_down_face:. That way I can use my hardware synths (which are not modular) in VCV and have them routed to different effects- right now I’m pretty much stuck with one synth at a time, which is limiting in its own way- and not in one I like.

2 Likes

Oh hello! What a good opportunity to thank you for Glass Pane :smiley: Only tried it in 1½ patches so far, but I’m loving it!

I can understand and respect that. For me personally, limitations stifle my creativity. Mine is always the messiest desk in an organization. My studio would drive many people nuts. My studio is basically a single large system where everything is connected via networks of MIDI, USB, Ethernet, power, Bluetooth, WiFi and audio. The MIDI network involves multiple hardware routers, switches, splitters and mergers. My Windows Alienware gaming PC tower and a 12.9" iPad are also integrated into the studio. Oh yeah, I have iOS lightning cable router network also.

But the cost of doing the open ended flexible hardware system versus the virtual system is orders of magnitude difference. If I had it to do over, I would have a lot less hardware than I have now, but that was not feasible until 2018. And I do like the look of having a couple of Moog Mother-32 semi-modular synths in a Eurorack :wink:

2 Likes

You can play some lines into Mr Chainkov and he will generate similar melodies for you. It’s useful if you want a kind of “authored” randomness.

7 Likes

Amazing results can be had with just Vult Caudals, Fluxs and a clock & quantizer.

1 Like

i second mr chainkov, it’s one of my favorite modules though i haven’t used it much recently. i enjoy using my “randomchordrecorder” module for sketches, the idea is to play some chords into it with the midi-cv module, then it will randomly pick a new chord when a trigger is received on the trig input. you can then adjust the probability of certain chords to be randomly chosen to taste. besides that, a lot of what is appealing to me in generative things is deep modulation, which i find is more of a creative journey than something you can find in a single module. also playing with feedback is interesting, but can be very dangerous to hearing so i’m not sure i recommend it.

1 Like

i partially agree about limitations and partially disagree. choosing a limitation for a specific project is good, but i feel like it’s best to have enough possibilities present that you can go in different directions if you choose to do so. i set up a template for liveloop in vcv that i like, and the core stuff stays the same, but i don’t have effects in the base template, so i throw those in when starting a new patch. imo creativity is about being efficient with your tools, but having enough unknowns that you can still explore.

1 Like

Check out Computerscare Horse a Doodle Doo

Turn the “pattern” knob and you’ll get a totally unique (but NOT random. The same knob position will always produce the same result) cv & trigger sequence.

How would you use the Rampage for generative sequences?

cough Probably Not(e) cough

3 Likes